


the summertime and the butterflies

by glitterlarries



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Retail, F/F, Fluff, Girl Direction, Light Smut, girl!Harry, girl!Louis, girl!larry, uni students AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2016-05-01
Packaged: 2018-06-05 13:47:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6706735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glitterlarries/pseuds/glitterlarries
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis works at a charity shop, Harry’s the hot hipster-ish girl who buys all her clothes there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the summertime and the butterflies

It all happened because of Prince Philip. Well, kind of. Louis ponders this as she re-alphabetises the already ordered paperbacks on the shelf beside the till. Her repetition of this unnecessary task, though, has less to do with Prince Philip and more to do with The Beautiful Girl. The Beautiful Girl (TBG for short) is so beautiful, always in here looking through the floaty scarves and trying on and buying all those outfits that Louis is pretty sure would look ridiculous on anyone but TBG. Everything looks beautiful on TBG. Because she’s beautiful. 

Louis is so busy reflecting on TBG’s beauty that she sort of zones out. It’s only when someone clears their throat softly that she realises there’s a customer at the till who wants to pay. Louis notices Prince Philip before she notices her customer.

“It’s Prince Philip!” she exclaims, not entirely sure why she’s being so weird. Louis usually does quite a good job of acting like a normal person, but it would seem that today is not really her day.

“Er- yeah? And his wife, Queen Elizabeth the second. She’s our current reigning monarch. Heard of her?” the customer replies, taken aback but clearly amused. It’s only now that Louis looks us and sees it’s TBG. Fuck. Louis is being embarrassing and this girl is so very beautiful. And funny, too. Same sort of shitty awkward jokes Louis’ always making. Fuck. TBG is her soul mate, obviously, and Louis’ being a nightmare. She should probably say something.

“Yeah, erm. Sorry, that was weird of me. Just I was thinking of Prince Philip earlier so…” Louis trails off, realising that saying she’d been thinking about Prince Philip wasn’t exactly the most not-crazy thing she could have said.

“Right, and what were you thinking about Prince Philip?” the girl asks, looking interested, spinning the 1947 Royal Wedding commemorative mug in her hand gently. She’s wearing slightly chipped nail varnish that looks green and blue like the sea. 

“Well I was thinking about why I’m here, and not in the abstract ‘why are any of us here?’ philosophical way, but in the ‘why I’m here at this charity shop’ kind of way,” Louis begins. She knows she’s rambling but can’t seem to help it, she also notices that TBG looks very engaged in what Louis’ saying which is good, she likes a captive audience.

“Okay, so why are you here at this charity shop?” TBG asks.

“I am at this charity shop because I have been volunteering at charity shops since I was in Year Ten and doing bronze Duke of Edinburgh-“

“Oh, so that’s why you were thinking about Prince Philip?” TBG concludes for her, eyes laughing in the kindest and most sparkly way. Louis is in love. 

“Yup. The funny thing is, I never even got my D of E,” Louis says, shrugging. “me and my group couldn’t get our shit together for the presentation and it just somehow never happened.” 

“I got my bronze, but on the silver expedition I fell down a hill and broke my ankle so never got that one!” TBG tells her, laughing. 

“So you never got round to meeting Prince Phil either then?” Louis giggles. 

“Nope, shame really. Still, I’ll have him on this mug and that will be enough for me!” the girl jokes, stroking Philip’s face.

“Yeah, about that- why?” Louis asks, giggling slightly.

“It’s a very long story, you see so I-“ TBG begins, giggling too. Louis really needs to learn her name. She’s interrupted, though, by Cassandra, the general manager of the charity shop. 

“Louis, there’s a bit of a queue forming so if you could…” Cassandra tells Louis, gesturing to the three or four people in the queue, all looking slightly irate. Louis swallows.

“Sorry!” Louis apologises, quickly entering the code for mugs into the till and turning back to TBG.

“It’s one pound fifty,” Louis says, and hesitates, not sure what to say next, “I’m sorry you didn’t get to finish your long story, um-”

“Yeah, er-” the girl begins after handing over three fifty pence pieces. “maybe I could tell you the rest of the story another time, like um- do you like coffee?” 

“I do, yeah. So when do you want to-”

“Er- when do you finish here?”

“Four.”

“Do you want to meet in Costa then?”

“I’d love to,”

“Okay great!” she grins, and Louis just about faints at how she’s never seen anyone with dimples like hers.

It’s only as the girl leaves that Louis realises she doesn’t even know her name. She has a coffee date in less than an hour with a beautiful girl whose name she doesn’t even know. It’s then that it occurs to Louis that she should maybe not assume this is a date. Like yeah, Louis is pretty good at telling when other girls are gay, and yeah, there was definite chemistry. But still, it’s very possible that this is just a friendly coffee. 

Regardless, TBG is a beautiful, funny girl Louis really wants to know. Even if she isn’t into Louis like that, they can hopefully at least be friends. 

-

The remainder of her shift passes in a bit of a hazy blur, and Cassandra ends up having Louis tidy the shop floor with a laugh.

“Good luck with the date, Louis!” Cassandra says as Louis leaves. Louis isn’t sure whether to correct her or not so just flashes her a smile before closing the door behind her. 

It’s a two minute walk to Costa from the charity shop, and Louis dawdles slightly. She’s just a little bit nervous about this. In the good way, though, she thinks. Her tummy feels full of butterflies and she can’t remember the last time she felt like this about anyone. Stopping to check her short hair’s still looking charmingly dishevelled and effortlessly cool (effortless takes a lot of effort for Louis), Louis takes a deep breath before crossing the road and going into Costa. 

The beautiful girl has a table by the window, she’s drinking a latte and waves enthusiastically at Louis. She almost spills her drink in the process and Louis is hopelessly endeared. Louis walks over to her and she stands up. There’s a moment of awkward hesitation where neither seem to know how to greet each other. Louis goes for a hug type handshake and the beautiful girl goes to kiss her cheek and gets a mouthful of hair in the process.

“Oops!” TBG giggles, pulling away and biting her lip, eyes shining.

“Hi, erm- I just realised I don’t know your name…” Louis replies, and TBG laughs her weird infectious laugh and Louis can’t help but giggle back. Louis isn’t the giggling type, as a general rule, but this girl seems to be a cause to break most of her rules.

“It’s Harry, what’s yours?” TBG- Harry(!) replies, smiling at Louis.

“Louis. Nice to be introduced properly!” Louis jokes and Harry nods.

“Can I get you a drink, Louis?” Harry asks, pulling a pink shiny purse out of her bag.

“No it’s fine, I can get my-”

“Please let me, I um- I was the one to ask you out, so…” Harry replies, and then blushes before trailing off.

“So this is a date then?” Louis smirks, raising an eyebrow.

“Um- yeah? Is that okay? Oh my god, did I er- misread things, it’s just-”

“It’s a date, Harry,” Louis says firmly, gently touching Harry’s hand and trying not to notice how electric it feels.

“Okay, great! So what can I get you?” Harry asks, running a hand through her hair.

“Vanilla latte please, don’t judge me!” Louis replies, remembering the time she’d been on a date with a girl who’d judged anyone who so much as put milk in their coffee, let alone syrup.

“That’s what I’m drinking too!” Harry says excitedly, heading over to the counter and leaving Louis to sit down at their table and reflect on how she’s maybe found her dream girl. 

As their coffee date progresses, it only becomes more and more apparent that Harry is the girl of her dreams. She’s so beautiful and so funny and so clever, and has Louis almost sobbing with laughter into her latte as Harry tells the long story about how and why she came to buy a 1947 royal wedding mug. It involves a joke that went too far and an ironic appreciation for the royal family that became a strange fascination. 

“Who’s your favourite royal then?” Louis asks Harry as she returns to their table with their second round of vanilla lattes. 

“Ooh tough question. Um, probably Zara because she seems so down to earth. I kind of fancy Pippa Middleton too, though I guess she doesn’t count exactly.” Harry replies, taking a sip of her drink and getting a milky moustache on her upper lip that Louis quite desperately wants to kiss off her. 

“Yeah, Pippa’s fit. Kate’s too ordered for me, ya know?”

“I agree, yeah. Beautiful but in a kind of untouchable way.” Harry says with a solemn nod.

“Reminds me a bit too much of fucking Sam Cam and she makes me want to vomit,” Louis says, and she knows it’s probably a bit risky talking politics or making political statements on a first date but honestly Louis tried dating a Tory once and it was the biggest mistake of her life. 

“Oh god, I know! The yearly pictures of her and fucking Dave on holiday honestly make me shudder!” Harry exclaims with an exaggerated shudder.

Louis grins and shudders back. They smile at each other and neither says anything for a moment.

“Thoughts on Jezza?” Louis asks.

“He’s interesting, I voted for him in the leadership actually! I loved Ed, though, was so sad for him!” Harry says.

“Oh god, me too! Honestly I cried so much the day after that election. It just made me feel so hopeless about people and about the country,” Louis sighs, remembering that day almost a year ago now. 

“Yeah, it was horrible. Still, Dave’s fucked things up badly enough that maybe people won’t vote for him next time.” Harry says with a shrug.

They finish their coffees a little while later, and realise that it’s half five and they’re getting ready to close. Louis looks over at Harry and it hits her just how badly she doesn’t want to say goodbye just yet.

“So um, do you have any plans for this evening?” Louis begins, picking her bag up as they get ready to leave.

“No, I don’t. Do you want to go somewhere else?” Harry asks, biting her lip nervously. Louis thinks she’ll maybe die if she doesn’t get to kiss her soon.

They walk down the street to a Wetherspoons together, and they aren’t holding hands but they’re standing so close together that they may as well be. The butterflies in Louis’ tummy still haven’t stopped and she feels all squirmy whenever Harry speaks. They get a portion of chips and a pitcher of strawberry daiquiri to share and sit at a table in the quieter upstairs bit of the pub. 

Harry gets up to go to the loo when they’ve been there about twenty minutes, and Louis can’t help but stare at her as she walks away. She’s tall and slender and has the loveliest little bum and the longest legs that seem to go on for miles. She’s wearing a floral playsuit and flip flops and Louis thinks she’s probably found the physical embodiment of springtime in this girl. 

Louis tries to make it less obvious that she’s staring as Harry returns to their table, but she knows that Harry knows. And it’s okay because she knows Harry was watching her sitting as she walked back too. They’re checking each other out again, it would seem, and it’s wonderful. 

“You’re so beautiful, Harry,” Louis tells her, tired of keeping this observation to herself for as long as she has been. Harry smiles her beautiful smile and shows off her beautiful dimple and her cheeks go slightly pink as she looks down at the table.

“Thank you Louis, but I’m-“

“Before I knew your name I used to always see you in the shop and I called you TBG, short for The Beautiful Girl.” Louis states simply, deciding to be brave and reach out for Harry’s hand. Harry doesn’t move it away, if anything she moves closer.

“You’re so beautiful, though Louis. Like so gorgeous and um- most of the reason I come to your shop so much is because I want to see you.” Harry admits shyly. Louis wonders if it’s possible to burst from butterflies and inter twinkly happy joy. 

“So we fancy each other then? Like, a lot?” Louis clarifies.

“A lot, yeah.” Harry nods, eyes wide and looking down at Louis’ mouth. Both are leaning over their opposite sides of the table and they’re so close they’re almost touching. Harry smells like that vanilla perfume Louis knows is from Body Shop and it’s intoxicating.

“So you wouldn’t mind if I-” Louis asks softly, not finishing her sentence as she looks at Harry’s pinky red bitten lips.

“If you?” Harry teases.

“If I kissed you.” Louis says, it’s almost a whisper.

“No, I wouldn’t mind that at all.” Harry replies, just as quietly. They both lean closer still.

“Okay, good to know.” Louis practically says into Harry’s mouth. And then they’re kissing. It’s soft and sweet and tastes like strawberries. It’s electric too, Louis feels so alive and she doesn’t think she’s ever met anyone who’s had such an effect on her before. She’s certainly never had a kiss like this before. 

It only lasts thirty seconds or so, then both slowly pull away. Their hands still touch on the table in front of them and Louis’ delighted by the gorgeous blush still on Harry’s dimpled cheeks and the way her eyes are still so big and green and shiny. Louis pours them each another glass of daiquiri and they toast to each other and their first date and, of course, to Prince Philip. 

Louis learns all sorts about Harry as the night goes on. She learns that they’re both at the same uni but that Harry’s a third year English and Philosophy student while Louis’ doing her PGCE. Among many other things Louis also learns that Harry’s birthday was in February and that she’s twenty one and got a rabbit this year. Harry’s favourite ice cream flavours are strawberry and vanilla and she wishes she’d done a gap year. Harry realised she was gay when she was seventeen and realised she’d never in her life fancied a boy and had maybe too much of a thing for her Psychology teacher’s boobs. Louis in turn shares that her birthday is on Christmas eve and she’s twenty three and doesn’t have any pets but really wants a cat. She tells Harry that her favourite ice cream flavour is chocolate and that she did a gap year but it was mostly just working in a pub so she doesn’t think it really counts. She also tells Harry that she’d always known she was gay but hadn’t fully accepted it until surprisingly recently. 

It gets dark and loud and busy around them as it’s a Saturday night in town, and eventually both just get up and leave the pub together. They don’t really discuss where they’re going, but wherever it is they’re going hand in hand. 

They stop walking after a minute or so and Louis sees they’re at a park. She leads Harry over to the swings and they swing together in the semi darkness for a bit. There aren’t any words, it’s just the two of them and the moon and the stars and the fizzy feeling that hasn’t gone away since they kissed. 

Harry is so beautiful. Louis knows she’s probably overused the word, but words like ‘pretty’ and ‘gorgeous’ just aren’t enough to describe the way Harry looks to her. She is just so beautiful. Everything about her is so beautiful. Louis studies her face for a moment, and Harry catches her staring. Louis giggles and jumps off her swing while it’s in motion before leaping in front of Harry’s and stopping her swing. Louis then leans down and kisses her. 

This kiss is not like the last. It’s more electrifying, if that’s even possible. It’s definitely less hesitant, more hot than sweet. It’s so hot. Harry sucks on Louis’ bottom lip for a second and Louis thinks she’s going to pass out. She’s not sure how it happens, but it’s like all of a sudden Louis’ sitting in Harry’s lap on the swing and they’re both so wrapped up in each other one or both of them forget to hold onto the chains. Together, they fall back and into the soft tarmac underneath the swings. Louis is on top of Harry and both laugh as she pulls Harry up so she’s sitting beneath her.

“Oops!” Harry laughs.

“Hi! Oh my fucking god is that going to be our thing now?” 

“Yep, we’re gross.” Harry says, kissing Louis on the nose.

“We really are. Fucking love it, though.” Louis says, shaking her head and kissing Harry’s nose back.

“Yeah, me too.” Harry says quietly, before pulling Louis in for another long kiss. 

It’s properly dark now, and both know the night’s winding down one way or another. They’re now both sitting at the top of a climbing frame holding hands and telling each other the worst jokes they can think of. Harry giggles into Louis’ mouth and Louis wishes she could stop time.

“Lou?” Harry asks.

“Yeah?”

“D’you want to come to mine? Just I only live about ten minutes away and it’s cold and… and I don’t want to say goodbye yet.”

“I don’t want to say goodbye either.” Louis tells her, helping her up and then resting her head on Harry’s shoulder.

-

None of Harry’s housemates are around when they get to her small student house, and Louis is sort of really pleased about this. It’s not that she doesn’t want to meet them, it’s just that she would quite like to continue having Harry to herself for the night, whatever they’re doing. They head to the kitchen first, and Harry puts some chicken nuggets in the oven and pours them each a glass of wine. 

“Wining and dining me then, Styles?” Louis asks with a wink once the nuggets are out the oven and on a plate between the two of them.

“Something like that, yeah,” Harry replies, winking back “this is like our fourth date of the night after all.”

“Fourth date? Ooh does that mean we were extra well behaved on our third date?” Louis asks, licking ketchup off her finger seductively. 

“You fell on top of me on our third date,” Harry says, raising an eyebrow and sipping her wine.

“Naughty. Who knows what will happen on this one, then.” Louis says, biting her lip and leaning back to study Harry properly. Harry’s looking at her quite intently, a smirk on her lips that Louis wants to kiss right off. So she does. Harry tangles a hand in Louis’ hair and moves to sit in her lap, wrapping her legs around Louis’ middle and the back of the chair. Louis puts her arms around Harry’s waist, pulling her closer and reaching up to kiss her again. This kiss turns heated almost immediately, both sighing into each other’s mouths as their tongues dance and their hands explore each other’s backs and shoulders. 

After a minute or so the chair begins to wobble slightly, Harry laughs before climbing off Louis and pulling her up with her.

“Sorry, was just looking like we were about to have a repeat of the swing incident,” Harry explains, kissing Louis’ neck. Louis gasps before replying.

“Good to know you’re a health and- ah” Louis comments before Harry turns the rest of Louis’ teasing into a breathy sigh simply by running a hand gently from Louis’ collarbone to her breast to her hip to her thigh. 

“Are you finished?” Harry asks, biting back a laugh as she repeats this action on Louis’ other side. Louis’ whole body feels a little bit like it’s on fire, responding so intensely to every single one of Harry’s light little touches to her skin. She can’t remember the last time anyone got her so worked up just from kissing and soft touches. 

“I think so, yeah.” Louis replies, before moaning when Harry’s hand rests on her breast, thumb circling her nipple through her thin T shirt and lace bra. Louis kisses Harry hard and Harry picks her up so Louis’ legs are wrapped around her middle. Louis hums appreciatively at this new position and sucks experimentally at Harry’s neck, not expecting Harry to moan quite as loudly as she does when she eventually pulls away. Harry walks them to the counter and sets Louis down so she’s sitting in the space between the kettle and microwave. Harry steps between Louis’ still parted legs and they both smile at how they’re exactly the same height like this. 

Louis wraps her legs once again around Harry’s waist, loving the feel of her between her thighs. She whines again when Harry’s hands find their way under her T shirt and up to both of her breasts, cupping them and circling her sensitive nipples again. Louis pulls her T shirt up and off her head and Harry helps her, fingers then teasing the clasp at the back of Louis’ bra. She hesitates for a moment, looking carefully at Louis and waiting for her to nod before undoing it and removing it entirely. Louis gasps at the sudden cool air on her bare chest once her bra’s been thrown haphazardly in the general direction of the table. Harry’s hands are then back, warming her far more than the flimsy lace bra had done. 

“You a tit girl then, Haz?” Louis teases, pretending to be less affected by Harry than she is. She’s not doing a very good job, to be honest.

“And a bum one, yeah. You have an exquisite body, you are an exquisite being.” Harry tells her, one hand moving from Louis’ boob to lightly pat her bum. Louis giggles and blushes.

“Interesting word choice but uhh- no one’s ever called me exquisite or anything like that before,” Louis admits, kissing Harry sweetly and gently. Harry’s strokes of her body become softer too, at that. Harry gently runs a hand down Louis’ back before leaning back slightly to look properly into her eyes.

“Well you really are. You’re the most beautiful thing and I just want to know all of you.” Harry says simply. Louis just kind of melts after that. It’s just that Harry’s so much everything, so very beautiful and so interesting and so funny and so so good and Louis’ just… just kind of honoured to be sitting there on this beautiful girl’s kitchen counter kissing her. It’s such a privilege. Louis isn’t sure exactly how to verbalise this, so tries to convey it all in another burning kiss. 

Louis almost doesn’t notice Harry’s picked her up and is carrying her down the short hall of the house’s downstairs, so distracted is she by the taste of Harry’s mouth and the way it feels to have her legs wrapped around her waist so tightly. She notices when they reach the door to the room Louis assumes is Harry’s.

“Be you’re glad you got the downstairs room now, hm?” Louis comments once Harry’s set her down gently in the centre of her bed. 

“Yeah, though I could have carried you upstairs. You really are quite tiny, Lou.” Harry replies, lying down beside Louis and leaning towards her.

“I don’t let people get away with calling me small, y’know,” Louis informs Harry, raising an eyebrow as she moves her head to the side so they can see into each other’s eyes and their lips are all but attached again.

“What you going to do about it?” Harry challenges.

“This.” Louis replies, moving so she’s sitting on Harry’s lap, straddling her. Harry moves to try and kiss her and Louis shakes her head with a laugh. “No kisses until you tell me I’m tall, Haz.”

“But-”

“No buts either. Not either kind- ha!” Louis laughs at her own joke. Harry rolls her eyes in a way that Louis thinks is quite frankly offensive for a person as into bad jokes and puns as Harry has shown herself to be. Louis wiggles her bum around in Harry’s lap for emphasis, knowing that the friction’s probably driving Harry wild. Harry moans, Louis cackles. 

“Okay. Louis, you are very tall and very mighty. I bow down to you.” Harry says in a way that should sound sarcastic but both kind of know isn’t entirely. 

“That was all I needed to hear,” Louis says, then kisses Harry hard and pulling down the straps of Harry’s playsuit simultaneously. She is delighted to discover that Harry isn’t wearing any bra underneath and wastes no time at all in cupping each of Harry’s small breasts in her hands and thumbing at her nipples. Louis feels Harry take a sharp intake of breath and detaches their mouths for a moment, unable to tear her eyes away from Harry’s face and the way she’s breathing so deeply at what Louis would say wasn’t all that much contact at all. 

“What do you want, Haz?” Louis asks, taking her hands away from Harry’s breasts and gently stroking her upper arms for a moment instead. 

“You,” Harry says simply, and Louis laughs.

“You’ve definitely got me, love. You’re going to have to be more specific. What do you want from me right now, sex-wise… or not sex-wise if you want to stop-”

“I don’t want to stop! I want… I want you to finger me until I come and then I- I want to eat you out until you scream, if that’s okay with you.” Harry informs her, and Louis can’t help but laugh at Harry’s quite formal tone.

“Okay Ms Styles, I am sure that can be arranged.” Louis says, pulling Harry’s playsuit all the way down off her before capturing her red, bitten lips in another kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> glitterlarries.tumblr.com


End file.
